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After nearly 40 years of service to Thermopolis and Hot Springs County, a very familiar face is celebrating his retirement this week. John Lumley began working for the Thermopolis Police Department in 1979, working as a dispatcher. By the next year, 1980, he was hired by Sheriff Walt Harvey to work cases with his office until Harvey was defeated in the election of 1982. Lumley was retained by the winner of that race, DeLoyd Quarbeg, and remained as an investigator for the next eight years. When...
There is nothing more special than the sound of a child’s laughter playing with their new toys at Christmas. Something we may not think about though, are the children who are in need of adaptive devices just to exist, much less enjoy something so simple as a toy from Santa. Adaptive technology is out there, but the costs of such toys are often prohibitive for families. A simple toy like a “Tickle Me Elmo” may be $25 in the store, but in order to make Elmo adaptive for a special child, that cost can climb to $100 or more. One Hot Springs Count...
Two hearings have been scheduled in Hot Springs Circuit Court in regard to a drug bust on Nov. 24. Raymond L. Norcutt Jr. of Casper, who attended Hot Springs County High School in the early 2000s, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 21 on 11 felony charges including six counts of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, one count of possession of meth and four counts of possession with intent to deliver various substances including oxycodone, methadone hydrochloride,...
The Wyoming Coaches Association recently named Thermopolis cross country coach Stephanie Metz and golf coach Joey Johnson as Coaches of the Year for the 2018 fall sports season. This is Metz's sixth year with Hot Springs County School District No. 1, and she was an assistant swim coach before moving to Wyoming. She taught third grade her first year in the district, and during the past five years she has been teaching eigth grade math. One of the years she taught seventh and eighth grade math.... Full story
At their Nov. 29 meeting, Thermopolis Town Council approved the audit of the financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, with much appreciation for the time and work Koerwitz, Michel, Wright and Associates put into preparing it. Among the highlights listed in the audit, the town exceeded its liabilities at June 30, 2018 by $28,567,974 (net position), compared to $27,705,536 in 2017. Of that, $7,463,589 can be used to meet the government’s ongoing obligations to citizens and c...
Over the summer, a rash of vandalism started happening in Hot Springs State Park, including damage to trees, lights taken and wires cut on the Swinging Bridge and damage to the fish feeders. Park Superintendent Kevin Skates noted two juveniles have been cited for throwing hatchets and knives at the trees around the Big Spring, and during the Gift of the Waters Pageant some juveniles were spotted breaking into the fish feeders and taking the money out. A couple saw the juveniles, he said, and made them return it. The bridge lights haven’t b...
Friday marks the last day you’ll be able to see one of the smiling faces you’ve come to expect in the County Assessor’s Office as Judy Carswell begins her retirement. She began working in the office in 1997 when Shelley Deromedi hired her. “She was a wonderful person to work for and made the job easier,” Carswell said. “She had a plan to put Hot Springs County on GIS (Geographical Information System) and thought I would be the one to help her do that.” Carswell was a mapper for 25 years before coming to the assessor’s office, so she was the...
There are several openings for various boards in Hot Springs County and the county commissioners would like to get them all filled as soon as possible. The positions are open to anyone within Hot Springs County. There is one opening on the Fair Board, which is a five year term. The Predatory Animal Control Board is needing one Sportsman member for a three year term. That representative must be a resident of the county not engaged in raising sheep, goats or cattle and must hold or have held either a valid Wyoming fishing or hunting license or a...
Not every community in Wyoming has a Public Health office, so we, in Hot Springs County are very fortunate to have this health resource available. In addition to things like immunizations, Public Health is involved in the local emergency drills as well as other drills throughout the Big Horn Basin. According to Hot Springs County Nurse Manager, Tricia McPhie, the department has 29 residents involved in their Chronic Disease clinic, eight involved in the communicable disease program as well as 15 referrals from long term care services. The...
Though people can find themselves typically facing a judge in circuit court or district court, another arena is provided through drug court, also referred to a family treatment court. Though currently not available in this county, it is available in the surrounding area and there is a desire to get a court here. Fifth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Thomas Harrington explained the county never had a “drug court,” but does have what’s referred to as a family treatment court, which originated as a ju...
As students returned from their Thanksgiving break their parents were informed of a new system being used district-wide that added a new level to the security at each of the buildings. The Raptor Visitor Management System allows the schools to better screen visitors, contractors and volunteers at the various buildings. A form of identification, such as a driver’s license, is scanned or manually entered into the system and Raptor will check to ensure no registered sex offenders are entering t...
The Thermopolis Independent Record has two early deadlines for the holidays that we want our community to be aware of. For our Dec. 27 issue, legal ads, classified or a display ads and news or editorial comment need to be in our office by noon on Fri., Dec. 21. We’ll be starting the year with our Jan. 3 edition and will have an early deadline for that paper as well. We will need information for legal ads, display and classified ads by noon on Friday, Dec. 28. News or editorials need to be in our office by noon on Mon., Dec. 31. Our offices w...
Tuesday night, the Thermopolis Town Council approved the placement of devices that will provide free wireless Internet (wifi) through RT Communications in downtown Broadway. Tobi Johansen with RT explained the company was approached by Main Street Thermopolis and Rotary about the project. The two organizations will split the cost of equipment, with RT paying for the service. There will be five or six access points along the downtown, with the main one fed from the RT building and the remainder...
The Hot Springs County High School Drama Team took first place in 2A at the State Drama Festival this past weekend in Rock Springs. Twenty-four students traveled and competed against students from around the state of Wyoming. In addition to the first place award, they also had six students receive All-State Medals and 19 students receive Honorable Mention awards. The six students that received All-State Medals and a Superior rating are: Ben Manning (Stage Management), Breeze Petty (Stage... Full story
The National Weather Service presented Chamber of Commerce Director, MeriAnn Rush, with a special award at Tuesday’s county commissioner’s meeting. During his portion of the meeting, Emergency Management Coordinator, Bill Gordon, read portions of the report he sent to the National Weather Service in Riverton after the strong storm that passed through the county the night of the Demolition Derby at the fairgrounds. Gordon recalled receiving a message from Tim Trautman with the weather ser...
Following an extremely high-speed chase Saturday afternoon, the driver was stopped and taken into custody a few miles outside of town. According to Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) Lieutenant Erin DeVries, WHP troopers attempted to stop Yu Qun, who was driving a silver Kia SUV, starting at 2:14 p.m. near mile marker 30 on Highway 120. The vehicle was eastbound and travelling at over 100 miles per hour. DeVries said troopers were using lights and sirens to stop the Qun's vehicle, and they were...
The Wyoming Highway Patrol has recently been notified of a phone call scam circulating. Scammers are contacting the public stating a relative has been in a motor vehicle crash and arrested for driving while under the influence while stating the relative needs cash for bail and attorney fees. The phone numbers that the callers are calling from are being replicated (spoofed numbers) to look like they are coming from legitimate law enforcement offices in Dubois, Wyo., other parts of the state and surrounding states. The Wyoming Highway Patrol...
In November, Thermopolis Game Warden Benge Brown responded to a call from a landowner on Owl Creek regarding two deer that were hooked together by the antlers, one of which was dead. On the way to his call, Brown also contacted Disease Biologist Eric Maichak. At the scene, Brown observed one of the deer appeared to have died from exhaustion. He noted there were no puncture marks on the dead animal, and in situations where deer become entangled they can sometimes fight so hard they overheat....
According to a report released this week by the Wyoming Business Council, Hot Springs County is ranked second in the state for assisted living bed and nursing home beds, and has the fifth highest poverty rate at 13.6 percent, 2.5 percent over the Wyoming rate of 11.1. The figures are part of the housing report for the county, a tool to help the community understand the current housing picture. The report further states the county has the 17th highest percentage of renters in Wyoming at 26.3 and the 19th highest income at $3,841 per month. The...
Early January marks the end of Circuit Court Judge Thomas Harrington's time with the Fifth Judicial District, as he will retire from the position effective Jan. 7. His successor will be Edward Luhm. Harrington started as an associate with Messenger & Jurovich from 1991 until 1994, before he was Washakie County Attorney for two terms and had his private practice. He was then Thermopolis Municipal Judge and a part-time circuit court magistrate, filling in for Judge Robert Skar, who was then the...
Its beautiful to watch from inside your home as that white stuff piles up outside, but its a real pain once it starts to melt, especially if your home isn’t fully prepared. The Independent Record, along with other folks across town, discovered the hard way that we need to have our roof replaced when streams of water began coming through the roof, leaving us with a plethora of puddles and a mad scramble to cover our electronics to prevent anything shorting out or causing a fire. Since we’re jus...
Tis the time of year when Clark W. Griswold comes out in all of us. That is, Christmas decorations abound both inside and out. There are, however, some safety tips you should be aware of that Clark obviously didn’t follow. When it comes to your lights, be sure to inspect each of the light strings, looking for frayed wires, broken bulbs and loose connections. If you happen to find any of these problems, it is suggested you throw those strings out and replace them. When doing your outdoor decorating, do not use staples or nails to hang the lights...
The crews in Hot Springs State Park were a bit surprised to find a new baby buffalo calf in the T-Hill pasture on Thanksgiving. Normally, buffalo calves and other young critters are born in the spring, some as late as June, but this little fellow was way behind the others. According to Park Superintendent Kevin Skates, this particular buffalo typically has a late cycle and has given birth later than the others, one on 9-11 and even one in October, but never this late. Skates says mama and baby...
The 65th Legislature for the State of Wyoming will convene next month and our legislators for Hot Springs County, Wyatt Agar and John Winter, have received their committee assignments for the 2019-2020 session. Agar is now our Senior Legislator and he has been assigned to the Appropriations Committee, a good spot for him since that is the committee making financial decisions, including the fate of the Wyoming Pioneer Home. Winter is our Junior Legislator and he has been assigned to a number of committees for his first year. Those committees...
Baking is an art form. The Smoking Waters Art Guild is having a cookie contest, as part of the Second Friday ArtStroll, open to anyone who likes to make cookies. Here’s how to enter: Bakers will bake 3-4 dozen bite-sized cookies. Call Guild member Marcia Nelson at 921-8496 to arrange cookie drop-off or pick-up by Wednesday, December 12. Include a list of ingredients (for allergy reasons) to place with the cookies. The ArtStroll takes place on Friday, December 14 from 5-8 p.m. Strollers will sample cookies and cast their vote for their f... Full story
